This project, the old Rise nightclub on James St in Northbridge, already had one of Perth’s most enviable club locations. The owners were looking to revitalise the space with the goal of appealing to a younger crowd of more mainstream pop fans.

The club was intended as a means of ‘escape’ for patrons, and from this starting concept we built an overarching theme of ‘travel’ for the new fit-out. Our design drew inspiration from luxury jet interiors, the glamorous 1960’s Golden Age of travel and even sci-fi movies like 2001: A Space Odyssey. From street level, patrons are greeted with an aircraft cargo door to give them a feeling of being literally ‘ready for boarding’ to be transported somewhere else. A red padded leather interior leads upstairs to a series of portholes displaying not the view outside, but LCD footage from 20,000 feet up. Once inside, the club offers a slick, high-tech experience reminiscent of guest service aboard a futuristic jetliner. Light and reflection play a big part in the venue’s visual impact, with pop-riveted stainless steel panelling, polished chrome, black sheers, back-lit onyx, perforated aluminium and reflective discs in the bar and dance floor areas. The balcony, which gives the club so much presence on the street, was remodelled into a streamlined ‘aerodynamic’ curve, with strips of LED lighting and an aluminium frame. Just as with a travel experience, adventure needed to be balanced with comfort, so we installed padded leather furniture and velvet drapery to bring a sense of luxury and sensuous intimacy.

The aesthetics were only part of what we needed to consider for the new fit-out. The scope of the refurbishment involved gutting the club and bringing not only the structure, but all fire separation and detection, electrical, lighting, hydraulic and mechanical services up to current code. The CBUS lighting control system also wires back to the Lighting Control Booth enabling one-touch control for the full range of different lighting settings.